What does the Bible teach about killing?

In the Old Testament, when Moses gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites he included the following commandment – “Thou shalt not kill.” (Deuteronomy 5:17 KJV)  However, if you look at the New International Version of the Bible, the commandment is phrased – “You shall not murder.”

 

This sensitive topic in the Bible seems straight-forward, since taking another person’s life seems like the simple answer.  Some people believe it wrong to kill a person for any reason, and they sometimes equate killing to murder.  Just look at all of the people who are conscientious objectors to serving in the military or opponents of the death penalty.

 

On the contrary, there is a huge difference between killing and murdering someone.  Consider the moral and ethical decisions that law enforcement officers and military personnel have to make during their line of duty?  Anybody who considers joining the military needs to understand this difference, long before they ever raise their hand and get sworn into the military.  When a service member is riding around in a military vehicle and forced to make a decision to shoot somebody in the line of duty, they need to have these moral and ethical issues sorted out ahead of time.  You can say the same thing about the tough decisions that many of our valuable police officers must face every day as they serve and protect our communities.

  

The original Hebrew word for kill/murder in the Ten Commandments is ratsach, which means to dash in pieces as killing a person…especially to murder.  In other words, the emphasis is on the needless taking of another person’s life by murdering them.  Obviously, there were many Old Testament books written about the battles and wars of the Israelites, so the notion that killing is absolutely condemned by the Bible is quickly eliminated.  Take for instance when King David slew the giant Philistine with a sling and a stone, the text used the original Hebrew word muwth which means figuratively or literally to slay or kill…not murder, like in the Ten Commandments.  (I Samuel 17:50)  Additionally, death was often a punishment for unlawful acts, such as adultery, in the Old Testament. (Deuteronomy 22:20-25)

Even in the New Testament, Apostle Paul includes murders – not killings – in his lists of sinful behaviors, regardless if you use the King James Version or New International Version of the Bible. (Romans 1:29; Galatians 5:21)  Paul also recognized that the justice system of the various governments often included death as a punishment, in that he instructed believers to do the right thing by submitting themselves to the God-ordained laws of the land “…for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason.” (Romans 13:4 NIV, italics added for emphasis)  In fact Jesus Christ instructed Simon Peter to put away his sword, after he cut off an ear from one of the servants coming to arrest Jesus.  Of notice, Jesus Christ did not tell Simon Peter to get rid of his sword, since he understood its importance for defensive purposes.  (Matthew 26:50-56; John 18:10-11)

In summary, Scripture commands individuals not to murder – or maliciously kill – another person.  Killing is only permitted as a last resort, under the conditions of protecting one’s life, defending one’s nation or executing lawful justice.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of avoiding the use of such measures, unless absolutely necessary.

What does the Bible teach about deceitfulness?

Does getting the right end results always justify the means of accomplishing our goals?  So often we hear – what harm does it cause to say a little white lie, if it helps gets things done or resolve a misunderstanding?  On a short-term basis, you can often get quick results by playing around with the “wiggle room” in a situation, simply by taking part of the facts and quoting them out of context in a convincing manner.  Long-term though, the same results are usually not achieved as people usually catch onto the little ploys to deceive and/or manipulate them into doing something against their principles.

In some churches, pastors or church leaders may try to mislead the congregation by quoting Bible verses out of context and twisting the words around to accomplish a particular short-term goal, such as trying to get them to give more money to the church.  As a result, many believers may often overlook the minor discrepancies of the misquoted verses, since they are usually shamed into giving more money to the church.  However, over time, many of these same believers will get tired of these same deceptive antics used to manipulate and/or coerce their feelings into financially supporting the church, especially once they realize their money may be going to support a church that does not practice integrity.

 

Similarly, you can see the same practices played among friends or family members in a disagreement or argument, as one or more of the parties involved may try to pull the facts of the situation out of context.  A lot of people who are trying to peacefully resolve a disagreement in a prompt manner may actually become infuriated, if they realize that someone is not being truthful in the situation.  As a result, many arguments that could have been easily resolved in a matter of a few minutes with truthful dialogue instead end up as broken friendships and/or relationships due to a lack of trust.  In other words, how can you peacefully resolve a dispute among people with integrity…if one or more people are not being completely honest?

Even in the business world, deceit is often considered a rampant part of doing business in many circles.  How many times have you known people who have experienced buyer’s remorse after falling for switch and bait techniques, where a business advertises a nicer product while at the same time actually selling you a cheaper product?  Consider some of those car dealerships that try to have you sign the dotted line in purchasing a used car at a great price with financing, just to find out that they want to try recouping some of their losses by adding on a lot of other expensive things to your bill…such as window etching for possible auto theft or gap insurance because all of the hidden add-ons increased your loan-to-debt ratio.

In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, deceit was included among a list of several sinful behaviors.  He also instructed the Colossians not to lie to one another, because it was considered one of the many practices associated with a believer’s former sinful life.

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.” (Romans 1: 28-29 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.”  (Colossians 3:9 NIV)

Overall, believers and churches should refrain from using any deceitful tactics in how they handle their personal or business affairs with others.  The reason being, it can sometimes take years to build up trust and respect with others, but all of that can be lost within minutes by not being honest and truthful.  Simply said, the end result does not always justify the means…if people try to accomplish goals by using deceitful practices.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of handling all of their personal and business matters with integrity.  

What does the Bible teach about idolatry?

Throughout the Bible there are many passages that teach against idolatry.  In the Old Testament, idolatry was restricted to shunning the worship of graven images, idols, stars, planets, false gods and like manner.  However, the New Testament broadened the definition of idolatry by commanding individuals to remove any hindrance, be it the worship of false gods, graven images, stars, planets, money, success, or like manner which interferes with one’s relationship with God.

Idolatry was listed among the Ten Commandments, with the following words.

“’You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.’” (Deuteronomy 5:7-10 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

Some groups of believers may that take this Old Testament passage to the extreme by saying you cannot make (or take)  images of anything, to include taking photographs of people or making statues to commemorate people.  Obviously, when the entire passage is read within context, the commandment is against people making images of Godly or earthly things, for the purpose of literally worshipping them as gods.  Moses himself encountered this problem among the Israelites while he was speaking with God on Mount Sinai for an extended length of time, as the Israelites wanted instant gratification by worshipping a god they could see…evident by their actions of melting gold jewelry for molding an idol shaped like a golden calf. (Exodus 32)

Even in the New Testament, idolatry was a major problem as Apostle Paul included it several times among the various lists of sinful behaviors.

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”  (I Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

   

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

In Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he further explained the definition of idolatry, by saying.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (II Timothy 3:1-2, 4-5 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

Overall, Scripture teaches that individuals are to enjoy the things of this world, as long as they do it in righteousness, be it recreation, personal hobbies and interests, success or like manner.  In fact, hobbies and interests play an integral role in the well-roundedness of our personal lives…along with our relationship with God and our niche in our communities.  On the contrary, we still need to use caution about elevating our pleasures and interests, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to a point that makes them trump our relationship with God.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of removing any hindrance, be it the love of success, money or like manner that interferes with their relationship with God.  

Should believers show mercifulness?

As we go through our everyday routines, we often pass people who need help as well as many who claim they need it.  Just drive down the street and you will often see your regulars standing on their respective street corners – some who stand on the same exact street intersection everyday with their cardboard signs asking for money and so on, while others whom seem rotate their locations for those of us who may catch onto their schemes.  Yet, there are many other people who are truly in need and would never ask for anything from anybody, but you can see the desperation in their eyes.

 

Do churches and believers have an obligation to show mercifulness to others who are truly in need?  Idealistically, most churches would agree they want to help people and they love doing mission work to help others.  Realistically though, many churches actually cringe when some of these same people show up at their doorsteps.  Why do you think the New Testament author of the Book of James wrote so much about some people getting treated differently in churches, based on their perceived social and/or financial statuses?

The Apostle Paul includes being unmerciful among a list of sinful behaviors in his letter to the Romans.

 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness…without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”  (Romans 1:28-29, 31-32 KJV, italics added for emphasis)

Even in the everyday business world, people and companies can take advantage of the most innocent of people with the right team of attorneys.  How often do we almost accidentally sign that dotted line on an agreement or contract…just to find out we may have signed away our rights to everything we own and more.  And for what reasons, probably because we did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings or we were too lazy or trusting to not bother reading the fine print.  So who is to blame, the business attorneys who fancily craft these worded contracts and take advantage of people or the naivety of the people who sign them?  Regardless, there are many ways of not showing mercy on people, whether it involves passing by hurting people on the street or taking advantage of people in general.

In the Old Testament, King Solomon wrote about how it was wrong to take advantage of the needy and then financially destroy them in court.

“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.” (Proverbs 16:22-23, NIV)

Realistically, we cannot help everyone to self-sufficiency since Jesus Christ explained that we will always have the poor among us. (Matthew 26:11) However, we still need to use wisdom in helping others, especially since there is a plentiful supply of people who will try to take advantage a good situation.  Regardless, Jesus taught about loving others and having mercy on them, even those who persecute us.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44-45 NIV)

Jesus also explained how we honor him by helping out those truly in need, with the following words.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.   All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?   When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:31-40 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

Nevertheless, we should make a concerted effort as churches and individuals in reaching out to people who truly need assistance.  Sometimes reaching out means getting out of our comfort zone, not by just handing over some loose change or leftover food, but actually interacting with people in helping them learn more about God’s love.  King Solomon does a great job at summarizing the importance of showing mercifulness with the words.

“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (Proverbs 14:31 NIV)

Should Christians obey magistrates?

During this current era of society, many people are often faced with difficult questions where it seems as though they are forced to do things against their will…in order to comply with government regulations.  There are endless examples of situations where people may feel coerced to compromise their faith, such as employers in how they stand by their religious convictions and apply those values to their businesses or individuals standing up for their individual beliefs and convictions in a world full of regulations.  As a result, where should believers draw the line in the sand and stand up for what they believe in matters of faith and practice?

   

For example, many Christian-owned businesses in the United States are struggling with the issue of whether they should provide company-paid health insurance to their employees, if the government makes them buy insurance with birth-control options…since many of these same business owners may have strong religious convictions against abortion and/or contraceptives.  In the same sense, numerous individual believers also feel violated as these same government mandates are trying to force them into buying individual health insurance policies with required birth-control and abortion coverage, even though they would never use such coverage and have religious convictions against using their own money to help supplement these controversial insurance policies.

Similarly, a female athlete from a Kentucky high school in the United States was recently forced to make a hard decision.  This lady was randomly assigned a racing bib for a cross-country running competition with the number “666.”  However, she had strong religious convictions against wearing this particular number during a cross-country race and she asked the racing officials for a different bib number, who declined her request.  As a result, this female athlete was unable to compete in the competition…for standing by her religious convictions.

Obviously, the Word of God teaches that believers are to obey their magistrates.  However, where should believers draw the line in the sand and stand up for what they believe in matters of faith and practice?    

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1-2 NIV)

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” (Titus 3:1-2 NIV)

Well, looking back to the Old Testament, there are two great examples of people standing by their faith regardless of the cost.  These individuals understood the importance of obeying their civil leaders, but they would not follow any orders that made them compromise their faith.  In other words, the leaders of their era forced them to make difficult positions about whether they should obey them, at the expense of disobeying God.

In the Book of Daniel, there are the three Jewish men – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – who stood by their religious convictions, by not bowing down to worship the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar as commanded by his decrees…with the penalty of getting tossed into the middle of a fiery furnace.  After the king personally confronted these Jewish men about not bowing down to worship his gods and reiterated his threat about tossing them in a fiery furnace, the three Jewish men still stood by their convictions by saying the following.

“’King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” (Daniel 3:16-18 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

As the story continues, the king became furious at their response and had these three Jewish men thrown in a fiery furnace.  Nevertheless, the king was later in awe as he witnessed the three Jewish men walking around in the fiery furnace, along with a fourth person who looked like a son of the gods.  In the end, King Nebuchadnezzar had a change of heart by making a decree to the people of any nation or language who said anything against the God of these three Jewish men, that they would be cut into pieces and have their houses turned into piles of rubble.

After the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, King Darius took over the kingdom and he wanted to place the Prophet Daniel in a leadership position over the whole kingdom.  However, there were a few of the king’s administrators and leaders who wanted to have Daniel removed, but could find nothing against his virtuous character.  So they realized the only way they could make Daniel break a law was by having the king make a temporary decree, forcing Daniel to obey his God instead of the king, which would result in Daniel getting punished and killed in a lion’s den.  These corrupt officials managed to trick the king into passing this temporary decree, and subsequently notified the king that Daniel was disobeying his decree by praying to God…not the gods of the king.  As a result, the men manipulated King Darius into tossing Daniel into a lion’s den, for his alleged disobedience to the king.  Fortunately, the God of Daniel took away the lion’s appetite, evident by Daniel’s conversation with the king the following morning.

“At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den.  When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’  Daniel answered, ‘May the king live forever!  My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.’  The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” (Daniel 6:19-23 NIV)

Once King Darius realized the power of Daniel’s faith and God, he released Daniel and placed the men who falsely accused him, along with their wives and children, into the den of lions…where the lions overpowered them before they even hit the floor.  Much like King Nebuchadnezzar’s response, King Darius issued a decree to the peoples, nations and men of every language that all of his kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

In summary, Christians need to remember that we have a responsibility to obey our civil leaders and magistrates, as a testimony of our faith in God.  In contrast, we may need to use wisdom in discerning some laws and orders – such as the ones that may just irritate us and the ones that may make us compromise the more important matters of our faith, our relationship with God.  Overall, Christians are to remain obedient to our civil magistrates; however, our obedience to God trumps any man-made rules that may make us compromise our faith and disobey God.